China is engaged in an “asymmetric warfare” campaign in the United States aimed at influencing public opinion and undermining Americans’ trust in their institutions, former National Security Adviser John Bolton has said.
“The Chinese influence operation in this country, and the effort to really divide us politically, is definitely underestimated. I think we’re still learning a lot about it,” Bolton told host John Catsimatidis Sunday on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats Roundtable” show.
“Some of them, like the Confucius Institute at the university, are just propaganda centers. That is becoming clear. We have to be aware of this threat. We can’t bear to see it,” Bolton, 74, said.
The US government and people are more aware of China’s efforts to weaken America economically through stealing economic assets and bullying allies including Taiwan, he explained.
“But these attempts to influence our public opinion without telling anyone that they’re doing it, that’s more dangerous, and, in the long run, more dangerous,” said Bolton, who served as White House national security adviser under former President Donald Trump.
“China’s influence operation…must be underestimated,” John Bolton believes.Getty Images
Bolton said the popularity of TikTok, a popular Chinese-linked mobile video platform with more than a billion users worldwide and 150 million in the US, according to the company, is a case in point.
“It’s like the story of the Pied Piper. The Chinese developed this. They have made people almost addicted to it. And it’s something they can use to attract people’s attention later,” he said.
On the growing tension between the US and China, Bolton said that while the US remains the “dominant power militarily”, China’s strategy is to use “asymmetric warfare.”
Bolton warned that the popularity of TikTok is a perfect example of China’s efforts to undermine the US government and influence public opinion.AFP via Getty Images
Bolton said that while the US remains the “dominant power militarily,” China’s strategy is to use “asymmetric warfare.” Reuters
“To engage in cyber attacks. To try to influence the operation. To cut to reduce us economically. Never confront us militarily because they know what the end will be. But to weaken American resolve. Undermining trust in our institutions. And to do it in many different ways,” he said.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with Commerce Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Wentao last week in an effort to smooth tensions between the two superpowers.
That relationship has grown stronger, especially after Chinese spy balloons invaded US airspace earlier this year.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
